EastEnders is primarily famous for its powerhouse main acts: Phil Mitchell, Stacey Fowler, Ian Beale, those solid, tear-stained leads at the forefront of one brilliant storyline after another. Yet there are a few residents who have been flying low under the Albert Square radar of late that could be about to have a big year.

At Digital Spy we've been drawing up a list of suspiciously quiet East Enders you should keep a close eye on in 2017. With the promise of some fresh, exciting plots in the pipeline, now is their chance to really show us what they're made of.

With a busy boozer to help run, Johnny won't be able to bury his head in law textbooks and this should be the perfect time for this shy lad to shine. Being the (albeit temporary) landlord of The Vic puts you at the centre of the action, and there's nowhere to hide away.

We're hoping it gives us the chance to see what Mick and Linda's golden boy is really made of. Who knows, this confidence-boosting change might even bag him a new boyfriend.

2. Denise Fox

After an explosive start to 2017, things have gone slightly quieter for Dee in recent weeks but we reckon her dramas are far from over. She's been deeply traumatised over her decision to give her baby son up for adoption, and also spent weeks facing the added pressure of keeping the identity of the father under wraps from nosy Kim.

It's really no wonder she's been on the edge of a massive meltdown – is she about to completely crack up and do something cray? Carmel and co have been doing their best to be there for Denise in her hour of need, but we reckon the one person she needs right now is a certain market stall holder with bulging biceps. Kush, we're looking at you.

3. Max Branning

We've been waiting with bated breath to find out exactly how Mad Max is going to take his revenge on all his traitors, and hopefully all will be revealed very soon. Whatever dirty plan Max has got up his sleeve, it's going to be huge – Albert Square's not going to know what's hit it.

But you know the Walford waterhole won't be the end of it, and when Mr B sets his sights on something, he usually gets what he wants. After months of hanging around in the background, it's time for Max to take centre stage and wreck some serious havoc.

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4. Tina Carter

Life's hardly a barrel of laughs for poor Tina right now after being left to look after ailing Sylvie on her own while Shirl serves time at Her Majesty's pleasure. And things are about to go from bad to worse. Unable to be a full-time carer for her mum and hold down her job at the café, stressed T realises something's gotta give and is faced with a huge dilemma.

He's clearly got some guts, but question is, how far will the cheeky kid push his luck before his mum comes home and realises he's been terrorising her best friend? We've definitely got our eyes on this little devil, and if Dennis is capable of this at such a young age, his teenage years are going to be a right treat.

6. Whitney Carter

This year is going to be a very interesting one for Whit. Lee's out of her life, she's become the stand-in landlady of The Vic, and there's just a sense that something big is about to happen to her. She might be a glorified Carter now, but that doesn't change the fact that Whitney has no blood ties in Walford any more, so there's got to be a good reason for keeping her in the show.

7. Lauren Branning

We knew it wouldn't be long before Lauren got bored of her dull little set-up with Steven. It's always going to be a passion-killer living under the same roof as Ian Beale, but it would be safe to say the spark has well and truly fizzled out between the couple. So what's a girl to do? Set her sights on someone else, of course!

Lauren was blatantly loving it when that cute guy she was flirting up a storm with at Max's office left his number behind for her, and we'd bet she's seriously tempted to give him a ring. A secret affair could be on the cards, but it's high time Lauren got some excitement back in her life, and we love it when she's up to no good. Yep, this potential storyline could really go somewhere.

8. Louise Mitchell

As Bex's bessie mate, Lou has played her part in the indecent selfie scandal, but we're waiting for Phil's daughter to be given her own proper storyline to sink her teeth into. The mini Mitchell has bags of potential and is already a very well-rounded character – she's sassy and switched-on but also sensitive, and hopefully sensible enough to realise how truly vile Madison and Alexandra are and ditch them pronto.

We'd love to see her and Bex morph into a modern day Bianca and Tiffany – taking on the school bullies and the rest of the world together. It would also be interesting to explore a bit more of Louise's past, as there's still so much unfinished business between the teen and her estranged mum Lisa. There's nothing like a shock comeback to shake things up – make it happen, EastEnders!